Benefits of Having a Househusband
by letitrainletitsnowdontletmego
Summary: Jay might have thought of the title as condescending to his job, but Erin had learnt that having a househusband was better than it sounded quite a lot of the time. (aka, 10 times Jay being a househusband worked in Erin's favour).
1. They reach where you can't

My new fic, yay! Once again, huge thanks to justkillingtimewhileiwait for all of her beta'ing help and idea bouncing! Hope you guys enjoy - let me know what you think!

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Shuffling barefoot out of her bedroom, Erin frowned at the sight of Jay in her darkened kitchen. They had hit the gym after work, and she had thought they were lounging lazily that evening after exhausting their minds and bodies. Jay, however, seemed to have another idea.

"What are you doing?" she asked, running her fingers through her wet hair whilst roaming over her boyfriend's form appreciatively. He had changed into a pair of sweats which hung low on his hips, giving her a deliciously teasing view of the smallest strip of skin of his abdomen where his t-shirt was currently riding up.

"Your light was out," he replied without sparing her a glance.

Rounding the breakfast bar, Erin watched him balance carefully on the stepstool she kept in the hallway closet, head craned up as he stretched to change the light bulb of the corner spotlight.

"I know it was out," she replied, curling her hands around the cuffs of one of Jay's hoodies which were currently swamping her upper body, and crossing her arms loosely.

"Did you plan on ever changing it?" he asked dryly, interspersed with a quiet grunt as he struggled to swap out the lights; a sound that shouldn't send a bolt of pleasure through her but ultimately did.

"Yeah, at some point," Erin finally responded when he threw her a questioning look at her silence.

Jumping off the stepstool, Jay headed to the light switch to see if his handiwork had been a success. "Erin, you do know how to change a light bulb, right?"

Smacking his shoulder as he passed her, she scoffed indignantly at his comment. "Alright, smartass. I might not have had the most _traditional_ upbringing but I do know how to change a lightbulb."

"Yeah? So why has this one been gathering dust? Pretty sure it's been out since the first time I visited you," he quipped, shooting her a beaming grin when the once-dead spotlight shone bright again.

Erin shrugged nonchalantly. "It's not really essential," she lied. They both knew the struggle of the dark corner of the kitchen early on a winter morning. It was where the coffee maker had lived before Jay had subtly rearranged her kitchen, most likely for that reason alone. Coffee was sacred to them both.

Approaching her with a smirk playing on his lips, Jay stopped only when he was toe-to-toe with her, arms trapping her against the counter as he reached around her to grip it on either side of her waist. "You can't reach, can you?"

Her lack of an immediate answer must have told him he was dead on, chuckling amusedly. "Shut up. It's not funny, Jay," she huffed with a small pout, shoving gently at his chest with a fist. It wasn't enough to make him move but it swayed him enough to seem like she had meant it.

"I know, I know," he replied, laughter in his words even as his smirk reformed into a tender smile. "It's actually really cute."

"I'll show you cute when you're sleeping alone for the the foreseeable future," Erin warned.

"You wouldn't," he challenged confidently, faltering only when she arched a brow at him to rethink his statement. "After changing your light bulb for you?"

Pretending to consider his words, she tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. "I guess you have your uses. Househusband," she added with a smirk to match his, lifting her arms to rest them over his shoulders.

"See? More than just a pretty face," he said arrogantly, boyish grin in place as he leaned in to capture her lips with his own in a chaste kiss.

"Hmm. Form _and_ function," she murmured when he pulled back, repeating his words back at him before taking charge and pulling him into a quick, deep kiss. "Damn good function."

"Damn good form, too," Jay retorted, wrapping his arms around her waist and tugging her into him so she could feel exactly what he was alluding to.

Smirking slyly, Erin used her arms on his shoulders as leverage to raise up onto her tiptoes. "Prove it," she challenged him, the uncharacteristic squeal slipping from her lips as he gripped her hips to lift her up onto the counter silenced by his mouth on hers, already getting to work on doing as she commanded.


	2. They have talents you don't

Huge thanks to justkillingtimewhileiwait again for her help with this fic! :)

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"God, I need to get me a man that can cook. You're lucky, Erin. Adam's idea of cooking these days is grilled cheese or takeout on plates," Burgess commented jealously over the phone when Erin apologised for not being able to join her for a drink as Jay was making them dinner that evening.

Erin laughed, knowing full well that Ruzek's current idea of cooking matched hers on any day. Although, she rarely had the courtesy to bother with plates for takeout.

Leaning against her boyfriend's fridge, she observed him move around the kitchen smoothly, clearly knowing exactly what he was doing. Something she had no clue, not even as he had tried to teach her numerous times over the past year. Cooking just wasn't her forte.

"Jay likes to think he's the next Masterchef," she remarked teasingly, catching the man in question's gaze as he glanced up her, midway through chopping the vegetables he needed to make them a stir fry.

"I'm sorry, did you want to eat or…?" he asked in dramatic scepticism, arching a brow. Erin nodded sheepishly, pursing her lips and adding an innocent smile for good measure. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Saying goodbye to Burgess, she hung up the phone and watched Jay work for a moment. His kitchen wasn't as big as hers, but it definitely saw more use by its owner. And though they spent significantly more time at her apartment than his, she did enjoy the rare nights they were at his too. There was something calming about being surrounded by his things, his life, his scent. Though Erin was sure all she needed these days was to be spending time with _him_ to be happy.

"Baby," she began in an overly sweet tone, dropping her voice to a huskier timbre she knew he couldn't resist when he failed to acknowledge her. "I _was_ just teasing, you know."

"Hmm," Jay hummed noncommittally, and she could tell he was forcing all of his attention to the job at hand right then.

Stepping closer, Erin reached out and trailed her fingers tantalisingly up his arm. When she failed to gain any sort of reaction, she moved behind him and rested her hands on his waist, pressing herself up against his back.

"Are you mad?" she asked with a small, playful pout, chin on his shoulder so she could whisper the words right into his ear.

"Are you going to make it up to me?" Jay shot back lightly, causing her to tilt her head in consideration.

"How mad are you?" she questioned in between trailing her lips in feather-touch kisses down the side of his neck, burying her smile in his shoulder when she felt him tense up at her ministrations. "Do you want me to grovel on my knees?"

Jay let out a low, choked laugh, which Erin considered a win regardless of the fact that he yet somehow had the brain function to carry on cooking for them. "Sweetheart, if you're getting on your knees, it won't be for grovelling."

"Good to know," she murmured, pressing one final kiss to his shoulder before retreating back to the fridge for a beer for the two of them, ignoring the rough growl he let out at the loss of contact after she had no doubt riled him up. It would be far too easy to convince him to take him to bed right then, but they both knew eating before sex only made their nights better.


	3. They know how to look after you

Many thanks to justkillingtimewhileiwait for all of her beta'ing help :)

* * *

Jay smirked at the sight of his brother sleeping haphazardly on the couch as he exited Erin's bedroom. They had spent the evening at Molly's with the rest of the Intelligence team before heading to her's with Will in tow as she insisted he couldn't be left alone in his depressive state, pining over two girls. Jay had agreed, and being the designated driver, drove them back where they had caught a late game on TV, ordered some pizza and continued drinking.

He gathered up the empty pizza box and bottles that littered the coffee table, dumping them in their respective places in the kitchen before doing the same with the tumblers. Though he hadn't drank as much as the other two, evidently, Jay couldn't remember when exactly they had moved onto the hard stuff. All he could be thankful for was that it was a day off for them all.

Heading straight for the coffee machine next, Jay had just managed to get it started when a dull thump sounded from the next room, following by muffled cursing. Erin had never been a morning person, and by adding a hangover, she was even less of the woman with the fierce, teasing and charming disposition he loved so much.

"Good morning, beautiful," he called out when she emerged from her room, struggling but successfully tying her hair back into a messy knot. The cursing suddenly became clear when he noticed she had slipped on a pair of sweatpants under the shirt he had changed her into the night before.

Erin shot him what he suspected was meant to be a glare, but considering she still looked half asleep, it was hard to tell. "Shhh…" she murmured as she walked straight up to him and pressed her face into his chest, leaning heavily against him.

Laughing quietly, he rubbed her back and held her to him, loving the clingy side of her when she was barely out of her sleepy state. She was warm and soft against him, burrowing her head under his chin and breathing matching his in no time. It was enough to make him want to stay there forever, but the machine he had started beeped next to them and he knew they both needed what was in there.

"Coffee?" he asked softly, chuckling when she nodded but refused to move. Carefully, he managed to extract two mugs from the overhead cupboard poured them both enough to feed their caffeine addiction without any questions. Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, he shifted to lean back against the counter and pushed Erin's cup into her hands, forcing her away slightly. "Here."

Erin took her first sip hesitantly, pulling a face at the bitterness of black coffee but going back for another almost immediately. Jay could practically see it start to work; her eyes blinking open more and more with each sip she savoured until she found the energy to ask him, "How much did I drink last night?"

"Apparently, more than you can handle. You've become a lightweight, Lindsay," he teased mercilessly, smirking even as she playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"Shut up," she scolded with a scowl.

" _Both_ of you shut up," Will grumbled suddenly, earning both of their attention.

"Aw, sleeping beauty awakes!" Jay called out mockingly, not understanding but pretty sure the garbled words his brother threw at him next were not all savoury.

Taking Erin's cup out of her hands once she was done, he placed it with his in the sink and just about managed to stop her from cuddling back up to him as he turned back. Gently, he rotated her with a gentle hand on her shoulder and began leading her back towards her room, much to her delight.

"C'mon, let's get you into the shower. You'll feel much better after," he said softly, knowing she was displeased with his intentions and would rather fall straight back into bed when she shook her head petulantly and started dragging her feet. "I will carry you if I have to," Jay threatened halfheartedly, earning himself a groan.

"Join me?" Erin asked instead as she finally allowed herself to be directed out of the kitchen.

"Of course, and only partially because I'm scared you'll fall asleep again in there," he remarked, only half-joking.

"Urgh, get a room," Will said in a disgusted voice, turning onto his side and using a cushion to cover his face.

Jay paused at the edge of where his brother slept, squeezing Erin's shoulder and letting go as she continued to make her way to her room. "And Will will prepare breakfast. Make it carbs heavy, man, and probably some fruit too," he commented loudly, pulling the cushion off his face and patting him on the cheek, only to jump back at the flailing arm coming up in his direction.

"Go away," Will moaned, to which Jay rolled his eyes, resisting the urge to tell _him_ to go away and start bickering.

Instead, giving him a hard shove to the shoulder, Jay managed to pushed him off the couch and onto the floor, leaving him there unceremoniously and following Erin into her room, determined to keep his word about the shower.


	4. If they're military men

Shout out to justkillingtimewhileiwait for all of her help with this fic :)

* * *

Jay stumbled into Erin's bathroom still half-asleep. He had had a later night than her, having had more paperwork to deal with, so she had courteously gotten up first. It was a rare feat, but he appreciated the extra 30 minutes in bed.

Rubbing his eyes as he bit back a yawn, he blindly fumbled around the counter by the sink for the cup which contained their toothbrushes and toothpaste. Instead, he found himself yelping in pain when his palm came into contact with the hot plates of Erin's hair straightener.

"Dammit!" he cursed, suddenly very awake and immediately running his hand under some cold water.

"Jay? You alright, babe?" Erin's concerned voice travelled from the bedroom.

Gritting his teeth, he shook his head though he knew she couldn't see it. "Depends. Were you trying to burn your apartment down, or just my hand?"

Appearing in the doorway, she met his eyes via the mirror that covered the wall above the sink. "It's off," she stated, pointing at the loose plug dangling off the counter; another hazard Jay chose to roll his eyes at.

"It's still hot," he replied irritably and flinging his uninjured hand out in the general direction of where the heat-resistant case sat not three inches behind the straightners. "You have a case for it right here."

"Yeah, but that takes time," she brushed off, watching him as he turned off the tap and lightly patted the blistered skin with a towel.

"Does it also take time to throw clothes into the hamper? And throw out your empty bottles?" Jay muttered, shooting her a questioning look as he nodded towards the bathtub. Her clothes were in the corner next to it whilst the back of the tub, the part furthest away from the shower, was littered with toiletries, most which she knew were empty or close to.

"Yes," she simply replied, stepping into the room and taking his hand in her own. Tossing the towel over the edge of the tub, much to his chagrin, she lifted his palm to her lips and pressed a kiss to the burn. "Jay, I love you, but this? This is me. It's who I am. You've got to accept it or it'll bug you forever."

Exhaling deeply at her tender touch and the apologetic look she was offering him, he nodded stiffly and glanced around the bathroom. It definitely wasn't up to his standards, but his standards of military precision had been drilled into him from the age of 18. It was hard to let go of, though he was starting to realise that sharing a life with this woman in front of him meant he was going to have learn to compromise. At least a bit.

...

"Why?" Erin's simple yet incredulous question broke the silence of the apartment he gotten use to, not having heard her arrive home from her weekly breakfast with Voight.

Standing barefoot in the bathtub, Jay glanced at her over his shoulder to see her hovering by the bathroom threshold, unsure how to enter with the many items now covering the floor. He had visited the DIY store right after his morning run, picking up what he needed to neaten up her bathroom. Luckily, she had her own set of tools though he doubted she had used them more often than on an annual occasion.

However, her question wasn't directed to the mess of her bathroom but towards him and his current task of putting up the chrome organiser in the far corner of the bathtub. It stretched from the edge of the tub to the ceiling with 5 decent sized shelves which Jay had been certain would be enough for her toiletries.

"So I don't break my neck trying to shower around all these bottles," he explained before turning back to manually screw in the organiser he was just about managing to hold still.

Erin let out a noncommittal hum, and he could hear her pick up the metal pole he had left leaning against the counter. "And this?" she asked, tapping the railing with her fingers so the hollow sound echoed around the small room.

"It's going on the door so you can throw your towel on there instead of on the edge of the tub, which inevitably ends up on the floor," Jay answered gruffly, taking a small step back as much as he could in the tub and eyeing his handiwork critically.

"You're kinda OCD about this, aren't you?" she asked when he found one screw looking looser than the rest.

"You mean not dying, injuring or tripping myself over your mess? Pretty much." Finishing the job at hand, Jay nodded to himself and moved to step out of the tub. He took Erin's proffered hand to help keep balance as he made sure not to step on anything except the floor tiles.

Erin laughed softly at his words, causing Jay to smile back at her, hand still in hers as she swung it casually. "Okay, that explains why my shoes are always all lined up by the door too, but you know I've noticed you've basically reorganised my kitchen over the past 5 months, right?"

Shrugging, he tossed the screwdriver in his hand into the toolbox by his feet and snatched the railing out of her hand to get started on it next. "I don't see you complaining."

"You use it more than I do," she commented offhandedly in reference to her kitchen, her grip on his hand tightening in what he assumed was a subconscious move when he jumped effortlessly over the tools and joined her at the doorway.

"Don't I know it," he muttered brazenly, earning himself a half hearted glare before he tugged her closer to him.

"Thank you for this. You really didn't need to," Erin said earnestly as she peered up at him with a soft smile, truly showing how much she appreciated his attempt of accepting her messiness in his own way. It was a compromise he could live with, even if he was going to always be picking up after her or restocking the shelves, at least there were spaces for it now.

Jay tilted his head slightly and grimaced dramatically. "Not keen on dying, injuring or tripping, remember? I kinda did."


	5. As domestic as they are

Many thanks to justkillingtimewhileiwait for all of her help with this chapter and the fic!

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"You can't wear those to work," Jay exclaimed incredulously as he watched Erin pull on her jeans over the boxers she was wearing. _His_ boxers.

She glanced up at him as she wriggled on the tight denim, and he pretended not to notice the way she added extra movement for his prying eyes. He was perched on the end of her bed to pull on a pair of socks so he had the perfect view of her ass right at eye level, and she was taking advantage of knowing it.

"Why not? No one will see," Erin replied, done with teasing him as she tucked in the vest top she was wearing before buttoning up her pants.

"But I'll know," he bit out irritably, standing and gathering his phone and badge from the bedside table that was unofficially his.

"So?" she asked innocently, though he had an inkling she already knew why he was making a fuss about it. However, she still managed to look equally surprised and amused as she smirked and slowly asked, "Jay, this isn't turning you on, is it?"

"You know damn well it is," he all but growled, hands on his hips and staring her down with a scowl as laughter bubbled through her.

"Wow, possessive much?" she teased, throwing him a wink as she wandered barefoot into the bathroom to quickly apply her usual day-to-day makeup.

"Erin…" Jay practically whined. He looked past her lower body, the only part of her he could see considering she was leaning in over the counter to look into the mirror, at the laundry hamper sitting in the bathroom. They had spent most of the week at her place, and he knew she hadn't done the laundry in that time. And the previous week had been a tough one, with long days and splitting time between both their apartments depending on who was driving them home.

"I'm sorry, babe. But it's either your boxers or going commando. And I don't do that," Erin's voice drifted in from the next room. "Anymore."

"Jesus, Erin. I don't have time for another shower," Jay groaned, running a hand over his face and squeezing his eyes shut as he willed the image out of his head, along with the question about whether she had ever gone commando when they were just partners. It was way too much knowledge which he wouldn't know what to do with for 8 a.m.

Her dimpled smile was fixed in place as she came back into the bedroom and passed him with a pat on the chest. "Think of something unsexy then, because we don't have time to take care of you right now, either."

...

It wasn't that it had been a difficult day. A difficult day in their line of work was a case on which they had no leads, or a child was involved, or when one of the team was injured. But it had been difficult in a whole other way for Jay, even if they had spent the majority of it in the precinct finishing up paperwork.

At 3 p.m., when he had gotten up for his final coffee fix of the day and Erin had joined him in the breakroom for her final refill too, he had lingered behind a minute longer and forced the recollection of what he knew she was wearing under her jeans out of his mind. Especially when Voight had walked in and thrown him a curious look, telling the detective without words to get back to work instead of staring after his girlfriend.

As soon as he had returned to his desk, pointedly ignoring the occasional glances Erin threw his way, he decided that there was no way he was going through another day knowing she was wearing his boxers. There was something so much more intimate about it that did, as he had shamelessly admitted that morning, turn him on.

Which was how he found himself carrying the laundry hamper out of the bathroom and towards the hallway closet where he knew her laundry machine was situated. She had vowed to do the chore that weekend, but that was two days too far for him, and as she washing up in the kitchen, he had decided to take the matter into his own hands.

That was until he realised that he hadn't really ever done Erin's laundry before, or any other woman's. Sure, they had been together over almost a year now, but they didn't spend every moment together. And even if they were in the same place, it didn't mean they were joined at the hip. Which meant, he slowly realised with a frown as he pulled out some of her delicates, Jay truly had no idea how to wash her underwear.

"What was that?" Erin asked, suddenly appearing in the kitchen doorway, making him turn towards her with blue lace hanging off his fingers. Blue lace which they both recognised well.

"What was what?" he asked as coolly as he could, adding the item into the machine even though he had no idea if mixing lace with cotton was a good idea.

"Your face. You pulled a face," she told him with a finger pointing towards him, clearing having caught him contemplating what to do. Jay shook his head, about to defend himself, when she tilted her head and narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you blushing?"

"No," he replied immediately, far too quickly to sound casual and honest.

"Oh, my god, Jay; you are," Erin stated lightly, laughing whilst approaching him. He shot her a withering look, one which she ignored as she peered into the machine before shaking her head fondly. "You do realise it's just underwear, right? It's not like you haven't seen it or touched it before. You get me out of them more often than not these days."

"There's an accomplishment to be proud of," he retorted, changing the subject and falling back on bantering; something he knew how to do well. When she didn't remark back, he simply watched her features settle into a soft smile as she gazed up at him. "What?"

"You're cute, you know that? Being all domestic and washing my laundry even though you're clearly uncomfortable about it," she told him, laying a hand on his chest and running it down to rest on his waist as she leaned in to peck his cheek sweetly.

"I'm not uncomfortable," he all but grumbled, letting out a defeated sigh as he shrugged. "Just, you know, _unfamiliar_."

Erin nodded sympathetically, giving his hip a squeeze before reaching out for the hamper, her mind obviously set on whatever it was she was about to do. "Okay, well let me teach you something then. Consider it a class in 'How to be a Good Househusband'."


	6. You can calm them

Massive thanks to justkillingtimewhileiwait for all of her help with this chapter. It was a tough one to write, trying to stay true to the characters and the storyline.

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All it took was a blink of the eye for her partner to jump up from his seat and round the metal table in two strides. Erin had felt him become more and more tense throughout the interrogation, frustration and anger radiating off of him exponentially by the second. It was a tough case, one involving a dead teenage busboy and a young mother missing. What made it worse was that their primary suspect was a military man, one who had been honourably discharged with scores of medals to his name. Not only did it make it hard for them to find something to stick, but he was good at covering his tracks. Incredibly good, to the point where nothing they had so far would hold up in court for a conviction.

Erin had kept an eye on Jay since they had picked up the case three days earlier, knowing it would hit him hard. Anything involving young victims affected them all, but it was the military aspect which had her guard up. She knew how he handled such cases, knew how much it hurt him to see how people misused the skills they had learnt to defend others who couldn't and broke the promise to serve their country whilst still on their land.

Which was why she had been reluctant enough to have him interrogate the suspect, though she hadn't verbally expressed it. Voight had sensed it, the same way as he had sensed how personal the case was for Jay, and she knew he was watching from the observation room for more than just the answers. It was for the very reason she was leaping to her feet after Jay, far too slow to stop him from dragging the middle aged man from the seat and have him pinned against the wall.

"Hey, hey!" Erin grabbed a hold of her partner's arm, tugging and urging him to let go as the suspect began to turn an ugly shade of red. "Jay, don't, c'mon. He's not worth it!"

It was only when the other man was close to passing out did she manage to get Jay to drop his hold, neither one bothering with the person who was now a gasping, unceremonious heap on the cold floor as Erin pushed Jay out of the room with a tight grip on his shoulder. He was stiff and jumpy under her touch, with his emotions so palpable, she could almost feel them seeping into her own body.

Voight was waiting for them in the hallway, practically vibrating with rage. Erin wanted to tell him to back off, to shake her head and tell him that this wasn't a good time to blow up at Jay, but she knew she couldn't. Not without seeming like she was fighting Jay's battles for him. Not without undermining the both of them.

Still, she had her partner's back, metaphorically and literally as her hand slid from his shoulder to his spine, when Jay stopped in front of their boss just as he snapped. "What was that, Halstead?!"

"Its him, Sarge!" Jay immediately replied, and Erin could see his hands curl into tight fists by his side as she took a step back to allow him the space to defend himself.

"And what? You think you can beat it out of him?" Voight asked incredulously.

Jay nodded diminutively, words slipping out through gritted teeth. "I know what breaks people like us."

"No." It was said in a tone of finality which would have had almost anyone else leaving the conversation there, letting the sargeant have the last word and walk away with the knowledge their superior had given them a definitive order.

But not to Jay, not right then while he was riled up. Not when he had never backed down from a fight before, nor voiced his opinions or antagonised his own boss. "What, you have a problem going off the books all of a sudden?" he questioned in a deadly calm voice.

"I have a problem with your attitude, Halstead! Rein it in or I'll have your badge," Voight retorted after a pause, choosing not to let Jay argue back by pushing past him and heading towards the interrogation room to ensure their suspect wouldn't have any thoughts about using Jay's actions against them. Catching her eyes, he jerked his chin towards Jay and told Erin strictly, "Control him."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Jay vented the moment the door was slammed shut, leaving the two of them in the otherwise empty hallway.

"Jay, Hank's right-" Erin began, frowning when he spun around with a scoff to cut her off.

"Just once, Erin. I'd like you to agree with me over Voight just once," he muttered before backing away down the corridor towards the locker room.

Erin followed without a second thought, catching the door as it swung back with the great force Jay had shoved it open with. He was stood by the sinks, hands gripping the tiled counter with his head dipped low. Even from the distance she could see him trying to control his heaving breaths, the way his jaw ticked with every other exhale.

Approaching him quietly, she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall that separated the area from the rest of the lockers, simply watching him. She knew he would talk when he felt like he was back in control, and though his last words had stung, she knew he was fighting a much bigger battle, a much more important one, that had caused him to lash out with the petty comment.

"It's him. He knows exactly what we need to find her and he's lying through his teeth. If I could just-" Jay kept his head down as he spoke, breaking off with a shake of the head and a loud exhale.

"Just, what, Jay? Hurt him? Torture him? What breaks men like you who've been trained to keep secrets 'til their deaths?" she prompted him. It was borderline goading, but she did her best to keep her tone soft so not to pick a fight with him. To tell him that she wasn't trying to provoke him, but rather she wanted to know exactly what he was thinking. That she was there for him, to take whatever it was that he needed to get off his chest and out of his rotting headspace.

"He _knows_ , Erin," he reiterated, finally looking up at her. His eyes pierced into her own with laser focused determination, willing her to believe him with the same intensity as he did, holding her gaze until there was nothing she couldn't see in them.

It wasn't often that Jay allowed himself to be so vulnerable, so open, especially not at work whilst on a case which affected him as such, but when he did she knew it was for a reason. The same way her walls seemed to drop around him even if she didn't mean to, her subconscious taking charge and telling them both that she needed him to ask the right questions to allow him in. There was a fine line between letting someone in and shutting down completely, one she walked precariously and was more familiar with one side than the other. That was until the man in front of her came along and somehow coerced her over.

"Okay, but he's not worth losing your badge over. We'll find another way, we always do," she assured him, or at least tried to. Instead, her attempt fell flat as he looked down again and let out a sharp, dry laugh before slapping his hand hard against the edge of the counter in pure anger. Lifting his hand to repeat the action, Erin stepped forward and curled her hand around his wrist to halt him. She wasn't sure if it was her touch or the shock of her interrupting him, or perhaps a mix of both, which stopped him, but she was grateful when she felt him start to deflate. All the fight left his body with one long, ragged sigh. "Talk to me, Jay."

"Its people like him who make it a hundred times harder for the rest of us," he whispered, but the empty room and her close proximity meant she heard it loud and clear.

Brow furrowing, she strummed her thumb across his wrist as she asked, "What do you mean?"

Jay didn't respond immediately, instead pulling his arm out of her grasp and standing up straight as he rubbed at his forehead with his fingers, eyes sliding shut. Erin watched him carefully as he rolled his lips between his teeth, uneasiness playing on his features until he shook his head. "Nothing, never mind," he dismissed, dropping his hands and turning so he rested back against the counter.

Though he looked tired, posture slumped and hands limp in his lap with his eyes trained on the dull floor ahead, she refused to let him shut her out. Moving to stand in front of him, she positioned herself with her feet on either side of his legs, effectively trapping him but more to show that this was more than just about the job to her. That she was taking it to a personal level as she laid her hands on his chest, smoothing them up the soft cotton of his henley until she reached his shoulders. Stroking his neck, jaw, ears, she slowly brought his head up until she caught his eyes and gave him nowhere to run. "No, Jay; what do you mean?"

"The coming back, the PTSD, the suffering. People like him are the ones who get onto the media and they're the ones who make it a taboo to admit to it, because the _instant_ they find out he's a military man, they'll link it to his mental health. They're the reason why so many veterans would rather take their own lives than get help," he confessed with a stony glare that slowly began to gave way to clarity as he spoke. Though he kept his voice steady and quiet, Erin could feel the tension vibrate behind each one, and she could see the apprehension build in his eyes. "And what good am I if I can't help change that?"

"Hey, you're a hell of a cop, alright? I won't let anyone say otherwise, not even you. I see what you do, what you put into the job, the people you help; we all do. You do it so selflessly, so much so that it scares me sometimes, because you're _good_. You're too good, far too good for the likes of him to take it away from you. We'll do it the way we normally do it, without compromising your morals or your badge. And then we'll go home, knowing we put him away, because _we will_ put him away, with our consciences intact, and face whatever resurfaces together, okay?" Erin refused to let him look away, holding his eyes and searching them until she saw her words slowly start to sink in. When he failed to respond, she asked again, unwilling to leave the conversation alone until he confirmed that he had heard her. " _Okay?_ "

Jay merely watched her for a second, and as she had done only seconds before, she could feel him searching her eyes. She wasn't sure what he was looking for, but knew that he had found it when he blew out a light breath and nodded.

"Yeah," he murmured. Erin repeated the action and nodded, dropping her hands to his arms as she made a move to lean back, only to be stopped. Wrapping his arms loosely around her waist, he pulled her closer into him. "Wait, just-" he whispered, not needing to finish his request as she brought her arms around his shoulders and allowed him to bury his face into her neck.

Running her fingers through his hair, she freely gave him whatever he needed from her as she pressed her lips to the top of his head and repeatedly assured him, "I'm here. I'm always here. I've got you."


	7. They're hot

Thank you to justkillingtimewhileiwait as always :)

* * *

"A girl could get used to this," Erin commented slyly, smirking when she saw Jay start at her voice. He obviously had no idea she had been awake, and definitely not that she had been waiting for him to get out of the bathroom.

"What's that?" he asked, stopping next to what was apparently 'her side' of the bed. It was the closest to the bathroom anyway, something she was starting to see the true advantage of.

Sitting up, she trailed her eyes slowly down his body, stopping by the small scar on his left rib and following a wayward drop of water make it's way down smoothly to the towel he had wrapped around his waist. Subconsciously licking her lips, Erin forced her eyes back up to meet his, which were shining bright with amusement at her obvious ogling.

"Waking up to a rather sexy, half naked man in her bedroom, glistening from the shower," she stated with a seductive grin pulling at her lips even as he frowned playfully.

"Excuse me? ' _Rather_ sexy'?" Jay asked in overexaggerated offence, holding a hand over his heart as he took a step back.

" _Completely_ sexy. And really, _really,_ hot," she backtracked immediately and doing her best to look perfectly serious as she did. Climbing to her knees, she reached out and tugged him back closer by the waist, hands warm on his even warmer skin as she knelt nearer to the edge of the bed.

"Better, you perv," he laughed, running his hands over her bare arms slowly and repeatedly. "I thought you were gonna join me for a run this morning? We could have saved some water and showered together."

"Oh yeah, because that's _exactly_ what happens." Erin rolled her eyes at his innocent expression, carefully inching her hands closer to the towel that kept him from being naked entirely. They were practically chest-to-chest now, skin-to-skin, with her lips brushing against the underside of his jaw as she continued. "But you know, we still have some time for a little work out of our own. Why don't we work up a little sweat and _then_ grab a shower?"

There was a short pause where she could feel him swallow, his body reacting in the exact way she had predicted it would to her morning ministrations. "We'll be late for work," Jay replied without any conviction, his hands holding her close to him now as he tilted his head back to give her more access.

"It was a long day, no-one will judge us for having a lie in this morning," she murmured into the hollow of his throat, following the curve of his collarbone with her lips, nipping gently with her teeth and soothing with her tongue. "Or so they'd think."

"Just don't leave any hickeys," Jay told her when she reached the junction of his shoulder and neck, and worked on riling him up by teasing that little sensitive spot she had discovered he had midway to his ear.

"Isn't that supposed to be my line?" Erin asked lightly, pulling back and eying the reddened area with momentary guilt. A few more seconds and she would have had him throwing her onto the bed in unbridled passion, but considering they did have to go to work within the next hour, it might not have been the best idea in hindsight. "Fine. No hickeys," she pouted, trailing her hands up the plains of his chest before coming down to rest on his towel again. Slipping her fingers under, she made quick work of loosening it so it required only one pull for it to fall away completely. A new idea in mind, knowing there was a whole lot of skin waiting to be unveiled by her hand, she winked at him teasingly. "In visible places."


	8. You can influence them

As always, thanks to justkillingtimewhileiwait for all of her help with this fic, and for introducing me to the wonderful world of Halsteadx2 + Erin :P

Jay breathed out a frustrated sigh as he exited the trauma room in the emergency department of Chicago Med Hospital. The patient inside was being far more difficult than someone with three broken ribs and a severe concussion should ever be, especially when Jay had tackled the suspect just as a car was heading for him. The least he deserved was a thank you, not a headache.

"You're bleeding," Will stated when he followed his brother out, breaking Jay out of his building anger. Erin had stepped away to call Voight and inform him about their lack of progress so far, knowing she wasn't impressed by the suspect's attitude either.

"Hmm?" Jay touched his temple when Will pointed towards it, wincing slightly at the tender graze and when his fingers came back red. Perhaps that explained the headache more. "Oh, I'm fine."

Will rolled his eyes, obviously not believing him. "Let me be the judge of that."

"I'm fine, Will," Jay reiterated, pulling away when the doctor reached out towards him. "Stop- stop it. I'm fine!"

"Just-" Will began, impatient and borderline annoyed, following down the corridor away from the busy nurse's station. "Jay!"

"It's a small cut. It's fine," he repeated, words sharpened with anger which were only partially directed at the situation at hand. He was forced to stop abruptly when Will overtook him and stood in his way.

"You have a medical degree now, do you? Is that what you were doing in the Army?" Will asked dryly, crossing his arms and staring Jay down.

Meeting his eyes with a hardened glare of his own, Jay scoffed. "No, I was dealing with worse than a scratch."

"It'll take-" Will began, only to cut himself off when Jay tried to sidestep him. He grabbed his little brother by the arm, turning him towards him and using the small moment of the detective's distraction to try and probe at the injury.

Jay slapped away his hand almost immediately. "Don't-" he started, shaking off the hand on his arm and then trying to brush off Will's attempt to have a look again. " _Will!"_

"Hey! Seriously, what are you two? Five?" Erin's voice suddenly cut in, appearing next to them with an exasperated look. She laid a hand on both of their shoulders, gently pushing them apart before they started bickering once again in the hospital's ED, or worse, throwing fists. She had heard enough stories from them to know it was a possibility. "Jay, let your brother check you out."

"I'm-" Jay tried once again, directing his irritated look towards Erin this time, not that she was hearing any of it.

"Jay," Erin said pointedly, shooting Jay a look he knew very well; one he tried to match like-for-like but knew he wouldn't win against, not today. "Hank said to wait the suspect out until the meds make his tongue a bit looser, so we have the time."

Gritting his teeth, he blew out a defeated breath. "Fine," he bit out, meeting Erin's sarcastic smile with one of his own just as her phone rang in her hand.

Feeling a nudge on his back, Jay headed in the direction of the empty examination room his brother was leading him in. "Househusband," Will snickered unrelenting, very literally behind his back, Erin trailing far behind on her phone.

"I have a gun, William. Don't tempt me," Jay shot back under his breath, using Will's full name like he use to when they were kids to get a rise out of him. As irritated as Jay was at being undermined by the two of them, he knew better than to issue gun threats in the middle of a busy hospital.

Jay was roughly shoved towards the bed in the room, catching himself with a hand before he fell into it. Shooting a glare over his shoulder, he watched as Will closed the glass doors of the room, Erin on the other side, pacing as she spoke on the phone.

"You realise you're at my workplace now, right? Piss me off once more and watch what happens," Will warned him, slipping on some gloves.

"Whatever you say, _William_ ," Jay remarked bitterly, and slightly childishly, smirking when he saw his big brother roll his eyes and fix his jaw in annoyance. " _Ow_!" Jay suddenly hissed when Will shoved his head to the side for a better look, hissing in pain and breaking away from his grip when the latter prodded stiffly at his wound.

"Sit down, Jay," Will instructed irritably as he took a seat on the stool by the bed.

Jat shook his head and crossed his arms. "I'm not staying if you're gonna abuse me. What happened to 'do no harm'?"

"It doesn't apply to bratty little brothers," Will retorted, patting the edge of the bed for Jay, where he reluctantly gave in and perched a few seconds later. "Now stay still, or should I call Erin in and make her hold your hand?"

"At least _she'd_ want to hold _my_ hand," Jay muttered tauntingly, both men knowing he was referring to a certain paediatric doctor the elder Halstead had an unwavering crush on. One which Jay knew was a sore subject for him, as proven when he pressed at the graze on Jay's temple with more alcohol than was probably needed. " _Ow_ , dammit, Will!"

Jay's indignant exclamation had apparently been loud enough to travel out of the room, as evident when Erin knocked on the glass to claim their attention away from glaring at one another. She pointed a finger at them both, raising a brow to tell them without words that she was watching them and to behave, until they had the nerve to sheepishly nod back at her silent warning.

Hissing when he felt the swab against his skin again, this time accompanied by the familiar pressure of a tweezer, Jay fought the urge to snap again when the alcohol ran cold down his cheek.

"My hand slipped," Will stated lightly, the amusement in his words suggesting it was anything but an accident.

"You're an ass, you know that?" Jay told him dryly, shooting down the grin Will gave him with a glare.

"Rich, coming from you," Will laughed before carrying on with cleaning out his injury with some care this time and waiting for his brother's quip. When it failed to come, he smirked when he caught Jay sharing a soft smile with Erin, still in the corridor. "Househusband."


	9. It's not hard to make them happy

Huge thanks to my beta and idea wall, justkillingtimewhileiwait!

* * *

"So I was thinking…" Jay began as they entered the locker room.

During their morning briefing, Voight had informed the team that two of them were needed to make a quick round trip to the city of Springfield to pick up some important case files which were far too classified to be emailed or faxed over. In addition to that, whilst they were there, it would give them the opportunity to ask questions and see any evidence they wanted to.

Voight had chosen Erin and Jay to make the trip, telling them to leave within 30 minutes and to be back by that evening. It wasn't the first time the Intelligence team had pulled a highly controversial and public case, but it was the first time that Voight's powers hadn't stretched out of the city, leaving the team to make up for the difference.

"Oh, this ought to be good," Erin laughed, pulling out what she would need from her locker and dumping them onto the bench behind her.

"Springfield is a three-and-a-half, four hour drive, right? That places it well out of Chicago, which means I should get driving privileges for this mini roadtrip," he stated diplomatically, already shutting his own locker after having retrieved the minimal items he figured he would need.

Tugging on her jacket, Erin shot him a sceptical look as he made his way over to lean against the locker next to hers. "I don't remember agreeing to only being allowed to drive in Chicago."

"I don't remember agreeing to only _you_ being allowed to drive, fullstop," Jay retorted, making her smirk. Closing her locker, she picked up her phone and purse, slowly adding them to her pockets to join the car keys she could already feel in there. She hadn't verbally replied to his observation, which had obviously only made him more impatient. "Erin, please? You know it's fair."

Pursing her lips, she did her best to stare him down, but she knew she was fighting a losing battle against his innocent baby blues and the softest pout forming on his features. It was hard enough for her to stop herself from simply kissing the look away, knowing that though he wouldn't be able to keep up the pretense if she did, she would be giving in in a whole other way.

Letting out a long, deep sigh, Erin finally nodded concedingly. " _Fine_. But I get to choose the music," she bargained, waiting until his face lit up with the boyish grin she knew and loved before pulling the keys out of her pocket and practically slapping them into his proffered hand.

"Honey, you can choose where to eat for all I care. I get to _drive,_ " Jay replied cheerily, earning himself a raised brow at his offer.

Finding somewhere to eat was always a heated debate between them, something which the driver usually had the most control over. Not that their appetites or choice in food differed from one another, but they usually had different ideas as to which place served the best dish for whatever they were arguing over on any particular day. And it was a huge factor in Jay's argument about feeling like a househusband when she practically overruled his choices simply because she was driving.

Shaking her head affectionately at his rather giddy mood, Erin bit back her own grin in an attempt not to seem amused by his reaction, lest he got the wrong idea about possibly coercing her to let him drive more often.

"Let's go before Hank sends out a search party. The last thing we need is for him to see you coming out of the locker room with that grin on your face," she remarked, giving him a light push to send him on his way as she followed him, hand on his back to keep him going.

It didn't take long to get onto the road after that, venturing into the bullpen to pick up any last minute discussions before heading down to their work vehicle. Erin couldn't help but notice the extra bounce in Jay's step or the way he smiled at her lopsidedly over the roof of the car as they got in on unfamiliar sides. It warmed her heart to know she had caused this mood, a feeling of satisfaction and content growing as she settled into the passenger's seat and enjoyed watching him steer them out of their city.

"What?" Jay asked when they had reached the highway, once Erin had finished fiddling with the radio and chosen a contemporary station, leaving it in low for some background noise. She had gone back to nonchalantly observing him, eyes sliding from him to the road and back again at steady intervals.

"I really need to let you drive more often if you get this excited about a small road trip," she quipped, reaching into the glove compartment to retrieve both their sunglasses as the mid-morning sun hit their eyes.

"I've been saying that since day one, Erin," he reminded her, accepting his shades and pushing them on without a glance in her direction.

Slipping on her own pair, she laughed and nodded. "I know. I just didn't realise how sheltered you had become. It's like you're a Stepford Wife, taking her first step out into the real world," she teased, patting him on the shoulder and earning herself a disgruntled huff from him.

"Actually," Jay retorted lightly with a smirk on his features, "We prefer the term 'househusband', if you must."


	10. Eventually, they become your husband

Yes, yes, I know this is how I ended my other fic too but I can't help it. Many thanks to justkillingtimewhileiwait for all of her help and patience throughout my writing of this fic. And thank you all for reading :D

* * *

Pinning back half of her curls, Erin took one final look at herself in the mirror and nodded, satisfied with what she saw. It was the night of the Policeman's Ball; an annual event which they all managed to avoid if they had an active case. But for the first time in four years, the Intelligence unit would be making an appearance.

Erin could hear Jay shuffling around in the living room, having been ready for the past 20 minutes. A stickler for punctuality, he had given her a deadline of approximately 3 minutes ago before he would leave without her. Which they both knew was a lie, evident by his presence still in her apartment.

Slipping on her shoes, she headed out of the bedroom and blushed lightly when Jay turned towards her to take her in.

"Wow, you look beautiful," he uttered, eyes travelling appreciatively from her black heels and up her floor-length midnight blue gown to her modest cleavage and finally to her face. He met her eyes with a naughty gleam in him, licking his bottom lip as he approached her.

"Had to make some effort to look good on your arm," she teased. Dressed in a tuxedo, Jay looked the epitome of a gentleman, if it wasn't for the look on his features betraying him horribly.

"You'd always look good on my arm, sweetheart," he told her, stopping a couple of feet in front of her and too far for her liking. He eyed her again critically, hands casually slipping into his pants pockets before frowning slightly. "But there's something missing."

Brow furrowing, Erin did a quick mental rundown of what it could possibly be. Her hand automatically went to her throat, touching the simple silver chain she wore before reaching for her ears to feel the small hoops she had slipped in.

"What?" she asked, unable to determine what it was that he saw, or didn't see.

"This," Jay said, dropping to one knee with a box now in his hands.

Gasping, Erin faltered for a moment, a hand coming up to her lips. "Jay…"

Opening the box, she watched as he smiled softly at her, the look in his eyes shining nothing but love anymore. "Marry me, Erin."

It took a few seconds longer for her to process what was really happening, that her boyfriend, her partner, was proposing. Her attention was claimed fleetingly by the mesmerising way the light glinted off the diamond ring, reverting back to the man kneeling in front of her, still awaiting her answer. "Yes."

"Yes?" Jay repeated, making her laugh. She wasn't sure where the tears swarming her eyes were coming from, but the familiar feel of butterflies in her stomach along with the rapid beating of her heart told her they were happy ones.

" _Yes!_ " Erin emphasised, matching his wildly ecstatic grin with one of her own as she leaned over to kiss him. Pulling him to his feet with her hands on either side of his neck, she sighed contently at the feel of his arms wrapping around her waist to hold her close. They broke apart to breathe, foreheads resting against one another as she murmured against his lips, "Yes, a hundred times yes, Jay."

"I need to put the ring on you," he laughed lightly as he unwound his arms from around her which forced her to drop her hands too.

"It's so beautiful," she whispered in awe as he finally slipped it on, loving the way it fit perfectly against her knuckle and the new weight of it. "I love it. I love _you_."

Jay brushed back the curl she had left loose,taking hold of her chin gently and kissing her again. "I love you, too."


End file.
